Turkey Vulture? Or Turkey?

[Everyday Hunter]

I say turkey.

An Associated Press news article on NBC--New York (Vulture Crashes Thru Minivan, Maims Woman[size="2"][/size]) says that a turkey vulture crashed through the window of a vehicle. Story specifically said "Turkey vultures, which are not related to turkeys, generally soar in circles on wind currents and are often seen on highway shoulders eating road kill." Here's the picture. It's not a vulture. It's a hen turkey.



Here's a turkey vulture (pretty easy to tell the difference -- no stripes on his wings):


When the news media gets easy stuff like this wrong, it makes you wonder what else they get wrong. Of course, the reporter was likely just taking the word of the police in misidentifying the feathered friend. People responding with comments did even worse, calling it a pheasant, a red tail hawk. Especially entertaining was this comment: "I think the birds are becoming confused or disoriented due to the changes in sunspots, the earths magnetic field, and/or the wobbling of the magnetic poles. The fact that it could shatter an auto windshield is a disconcerting discovery as it reveals a possible deficiency in our vehicles which needs to be remedied." OK. Let's recall all vehicles -- upgrade to bird-proof windshields.

Here's the best comment: "It looks just like one of the hundreds of turkeys I've killed."

Steve

[OHhunter]

That reminds of a old turkey hunting friend, He'd pick up and go anywhere to hunt turkeys, he had just returned to Ohio from an alabama hunt.  I had a couple birds patterned pretty well for the opening day we were going to meet up and hunt the next morning.  Late that night he calls and tries to convince me to drive 3 hrs. south of where we were at because his uncle is finally seeing turkeys on his place and they are in the same corner of the field every morning and evening. 
 
I decline and go after the birds I had been watching for the last couple days.  I return home after a successful hunt only to get a call from jeff explaining to me how he drove 3 hours and set up a half hour before legal shooting time to hunt a bunch of vultures that were feeding on a dead deer.
I never let him live that one down.

[Woods Walker]

Are they serious? Not a turkey? Methinks these reporters couldn't find their own a**es with both hands if they were covered in Superglue!
 
Oh they're real credible! Like you say, it makes one wonder what else they're incompetent about in their reporting.

[CB on the run]

Credible?  They don't worry about minor details, they're only interested in ratings and sales.
 
Charlie Belle

[dewey]

I am no expert but that looks like a turkey to me.